Trust is Given
by Leesa Perrie
Summary: This is an AU based on the SentinelGuide bonding fics that occur in The Sentinel TV show’s fandom but no sentinel characters appear in it. Rodney has problems with his senses....
1. Chapter One: Changing

**Trust is Given**

**By Leesa Perrie**

_Sorry for the longish introduction, but I feel it is necessary to explain the following:_

_This is an AU based on the idea of the Sentinel/Guide bonding fics that occur in The Sentinel TV show's fandom (and are AU to the TV show itself). However, this downplays the bonding side of things, so there should be no scenes that could be considered as not-gen or even as smarm. Although the characters may change a little as the Sentinel/Guide thing develops, I'm trying to keep them in line with canon as much as possible. Explanations on my take of the Sentinel/Guide bond, as well as what a Sentinel/Guide is, will be given during the story. The characters from The Sentinel TV show do not appear in this story._

_Up until and including Season 3's episode, 'Phantoms', things are pretty much as in the series. There are no Sentinels or Guides on Atlantis or onboard the Daedalus, so although this phenomenon is known, it does not impact greatly on the seasons as we know them until after 'Phantoms'. However, since Jack and Daniel are a Sentinel/Guide pair, the SGC side of things will be slightly different. For example, Jack is still in charge of the SGC (sorry to all General Landry fans)._

* * *

**Chapter One – Changing**

Rodney had been working hard in the labs, trying to catch up after weeks of enforced convalescence by Carson, after Sheppard had shot him. And how weird did that still sound, that Sheppard had shot him?

He was only released to light duties, technically, and if Carson found out he was working late into the night, there'd be hell to pay. But right now, he wasn't too worried about that as he really needed to get back on top of things. Radek had done a good job keeping the science staff in line and on track, not that he would ever admit it to the Czech, and had kept him informed of any problems or exciting discoveries. Which had been frustrating, not being involved in working on any new technology that turned up. Not to mention not being involved in solving problems, either. So he was glad to finally be back at work.

The door opened, and he looked up to see Radek in the doorway.

"You should not be here," Zelenka said. "If Carson finds out…"

"And he won't, unless someone tells him," he frowned at Radek.

"Ah, perhaps I should, so as to keep on his good side."

Rodney sighed, returning to his laptop, rubbing his eyes as the screen blurred briefly.

"You are tired, maybe make mistakes," Radek continued. "Mistakes I will have to correct."

"I don't make mistakes," Rodney snapped.

"Of course, I forgot. You are infallible. Except when you are not."

"Oh, for goodness sake, go away. I'm fine," Rodney continued to read the latest report, stalling when the screen seemed to magnify so that he could see each pixel. "What the…"

"Rodney?"

"Nothing, nothing," Rodney said quickly, as the screen returned to normal. "You still here?"

"Yes, I am still here. I think I need to call Carson."

"No, you do not."

"Then you will rest?"

"Radek…" Rodney glared at him, startled when he heard a loud thump-thump noise coming from Radek. "What's that noise?"

"What noise? I hear nothing."

"That 'thump-thump' noise. You sure you can't hear it?"

"I hear nothing except tired physicist yapping," Radek looked concerned. "Are you sure you are okay?"

"Yes, yes," Rodney scowled, "it's gone now anyway." Rodney returned his attention to the laptop, but felt unsettled. He heard Radek sigh.

"I will go," the Czech said, "and return with Carson."

"No, damn it, you will not!" Rodney got up, but stumbled when the room seemed to refocus so that he could see everything up close, as though he was looking through a microscope. Radek moved quickly, grabbing his arm and helping him to sit back down. "Oh crap," he put his head in his hands, closing his eyes.

He heard Radek call Carson to his lab. Well, that was just great, he thought to himself. First day back at work, and he was at least looking at a tongue lashing from the Scot, probably followed by being taken off duty again. He risked opening his eyes and looked up. Okay, sight was back to normal. What on Earth…well, Atlantis, had caused that? And what was that infernal noise coming from Radek again? The noise faded, but that smell…ack, too much deodorant or aftershave or something. The smell faded, but why was his shirt feeling scratchy all of a sudden, it was fine not long ago. And now, damn it, his head felt like it was going to explode.

Time seemed to speed up, because the next thing he was truly aware of was a Scottish voice trying to get his attention. He looked up into Carson's worried, and annoyed, face.

"Carson."

"At last, I've been trying to get a response form you for a good couple of minutes now."

"Oh. Sorry."

"Sure you are. I let you back to work on light duties, and you go and overdo it on your first day back!"

"I'm fine!"

"You're not," Carson glared at him.

"He was complaining about a noise, one I could not hear," Radek put in.

"Hmm, that doesn't sound good. Any other problems?"

Rodney glared at Radek, and then turned his glare onto Carson. Carson merely stood back, folding his arms over against his chest, waiting. And then Rodney's eyes focused in, so that he could see the individual fibres that made up Carson's jacket. He closed his eyes, placing his throbbing head back into his hands with a groan.

"Rodney," Carson sounded worried. "What is it?" When Rodney didn't reply, he sighed in frustration. "Come on, there's no point in being stubborn. There's obviously something wrong, and the fact you're not whining about it is, frankly, worrying in itself."

"I don't whine…" Rodney heard Carson's snort quite clearly, too clearly. "Much," he amended, and sighed deeply. "It started with my eyes, it was like I could see each pixel on the laptop screen, and then later it was like I was looking at the room through a microscope. Probably just some weird tiredness thing, right?"

"Maybe," Carson said cautiously. "What about the sound you thought you heard?"

"It was like a thump-thump sound, and it came from Radek…" Rodney trailed off. "A thump-thump sound, like a heartbeat. Only that's not possible."

"You heard Radek's heartbeat?" Carson asked in surprise.

"No, I mean, I don't know. It sounded like it, okay? And my shirt started feeling scratchy for no reason, and I could smell someone's aftershave or deodorant or something, and it was overpowering. But it only lasted a few moments each time."

"Bloody hell," Carson said, "that's four out of five senses you've mentioned, all of them temporarily heightened."

"Sentinel," Radek breathed in astonishment, before turning to Carson. "Is it possible?"

"Aye, lad, it's possible. Not all Sentinels have their abilities appear during puberty. It can be delayed in rare cases into adulthood."

"What? You think…" Rodney stopped, stunned by what Carson and Radek obviously thought. "You think I could be a Sentinel? Someone with five enhanced senses?"

"Aye, it does sound that way. We need to get you down to the infirmary, do a few tests to find out."

Rodney was too shocked by this possibility to put up any protest when Carson guided him towards the infirmary. Unfortunately, he had only stepped out into the hallway when his sense of smell decided to play up; he couldn't breathe and started to gag. He was vaguely aware of Carson telling him to breathe slowly, but he couldn't, the air smelt so foul, and started to hyperventilate, until darkness took him.

* * *

When Rodney resurfaced, he was lying on an infirmary bed, with various monitors attached to him. He groaned as his head reminded him of its aching status, and he closed his eyes against the light in the room, moving one of his arms up to cover them.

"Hey, how you feeling, McKay?"

He recognised Sheppard's voice.

"Hurts," he whispered. "Need a new head, one that doesn't ache abominably."

"Let me get Beckett. I'm sure he can give you something to make that better."

"That would be good."

Sheppard moved off, and Rodney drifted. He wished someone would switch off the noisy monitors, they weren't helping his head any. He recognised the heart monitor, and felt his heart beating in time with it. Felt it, heard it, and then got lost in it.

* * *

When Sheppard returned with Carson, Rodney was still, completely and frighteningly still. Carson moved McKay's arm from over his eyes, and placed it back down beside him. Rodney's eyes were open and fixed, staring at nothing. Almost as if dead.

"Rodney," Carson called, rubbing a hand over McKay's arm. "Rodney, can you hear me? You need to come back now."

"What's happening, doc?" John asked. "He was complaining of a headache, but otherwise he seemed fine when I left him."

"It's okay, he's just fallen into a zone out. We just need to talk to him, encourage him to return. Physical contact helps as well."

"A zone out?"

"Aye. It's when a Sentinel focuses in on one sense too much, and loses himself in a kind of fugue state. It happens sometimes, especially with new Sentinels. Training will help to reduce the occurrence of them." Carson reassured him, turning his attention back to Rodney. "Come on, now. Come on back to us, Rodney."

John joined him in coaxing McKay back from wherever he had gone, taking one of Rodney's hands in his own, and rubbing it gently.

It took a good fifteen or so minutes before McKay responded, coming awake with a start, and looking round wildly. John placed the hand he was holding back onto the bed.

"Hey, there you are," he said quietly.

"What…what happened? And, oh crap, my head…" Rodney placed an arm back over his eyes again.

"You had a zone out," Carson said calmly. "What do you remember last?"

"I…the heart monitor. I was listening to it, and could feel my heart beating in time with it. And then I could hear my own heart…and then I woke up just now."

"Well, it seems you zoned out on your own heartbeat. Concentrated on your hearing too much, got lost in it, for want of a better explanation. You'll get used to this, learn how to avoid them."

"So…I am a Sentinel?" Sheppard could hear the fear in McKay's voice.

"Yes. I did some tests. We're able to recognise the Sentinel/Guide gene after the person has, in essence, come online. We can't detect it prior to that as yet. Anyway, you now have the altered gene, so there can be no doubt about it."

"Oh."

"Hey, I think it's cool," Sheppard said with a grin. "Just think how useful this will be on missions. You'll have hearing to rival Ronon's, in fact, he might be jealous of you. And to be able to see danger…"

"Yeah, I guess." Rodney still looked freaked out though. "Of course, if I zone out on a mission, I'd be a liability."

"So, we find a way to protect you from that," John nudged him. "Come on, think of the plus side."

"Not really in my nature, that, is it? You know, a glass half empty type of guy."

Sheppard shook his head in exasperation.

"Do I need a Guide?" McKay asked Carson. "Because, I really don't think I'm a good candidate for that."

"Well, Sentinels don't _need_ a Guide, that is, they can survive without one quite well. But with a Guide, the ability to control the senses is increased as is the range and sensitivity of them. Zone outs are far less likely with a Guide than without, and a Guide can pull you out of one within one to six minutes. It takes non-Guides between ten and forty minutes to do that."

"In other words, I'll manage okay without one, but would manage a lot better with one?"

"Aye."

"There aren't any Guides on Atlantis. If I remember right, don't they have to be compatible or something? I would have to go to Earth, take part in 'mixers', you know, get-togethers, to try and find my Guide," Rodney scowled at the thought.

"Well, you might not. In fact, I think there's a good chance you won't."

"You think we can find a Guide here?" Sheppard asked, confused.

"Most likely. With latent Sentinels, in ninety percent of cases a latent Guide lives within about two miles of said Sentinel, and comes online within one to four weeks of the Sentinel doing so. It assumed that there is some instinctual knowledge that draws them together before they come online. Often, about eighty percent of the time, the Sentinel and Guide already know each other, and are usually friends. So there's a very good chance that someone here will become a Guide within a month, and he or she will be compatible with you."

"Oh," Rodney's brow was furrowed as he took this all in. "But will they want to bond with me? Even if I wanted to bond with them, and I'm far from sure about that. I mean, this whole bonding thing…it sounds…"

"There's a lot of rubbish talked about it," Carson said sternly. "It's perfectly natural, and completely platonic. No bonded Sentinel and Guide have ever been more than very good friends. There is never any hint of sexual interest or tension between them, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. The bond causes them to be like siblings, very close siblings, but nothing more."

"Oh, well, that's a relief. Though I'm not sure about that whole close family thing. It seems…difficult."

"Ach, lad, it's probably no more close than your team and you are, and don't tell me they're not like family to you. You said as much when we went to Sateda after Ronon," Carson said with a cheeky grin.

"Oh great! I knew I should have kept my mouth shut!"

"You said that?" John said, with a teasing grin. "Aww, that's nice."

"Oh, shut up."

"Look, there's little point in worrying yourself about it. The more important thing is to give you some training on how to control your enhanced senses," Carson stated. "I have some information on that, and I believe Major Lorne has some experience with it. He's stood in for Dr Jackson a few times."

"Of course! General O'Neill's a Sentinel, isn't he? And if I remember right, he and Jackson were both latent until a few years ago," John smiled. "I'll talk to Lorne."

"Oh, just wonderful. I'm sure he'll be overjoyed when you ask him to help me out, just like I am," Rodney rolled his eyes, and then winced. "Damn, this headache's not getting any better, Carson."

"I know, but I'm going to have to be careful what I give you. Now that you're a Sentinel, I need to check you for drug sensitivity, and for any new allergies."

"Oh, great, another side benefit. More allergies, just what I need!"

"You'll be fine, Rodney," Carson sighed. Rodney narrowed his eyes, not feeling very reassured.

"Well, I'll leave you to it. I need to find Lorne and give him the good news," Sheppard said with a grin as he left.

"Now, let's see how you respond to simple Tylenol…"

Sheppard shook his head at the groan Carson's comment elicited from McKay. He didn't envy the doc his job right now. Nor did he envy his team-mate's position that much either.

* * *

John decided to see Elizabeth before finding Lorne, and found her in her office.

"Come in, John. How's Rodney?"

"He's okay considering. Just had a zone out, which was…weird."

"I saw Jack have a zone out once, it was quite scary. I take it Rodney came out of it alright?"

"It took a while, but yes, Carson and I were able to call him back from whatever place he went to," John frowned. "And as usual, he's zeroing in on all the negatives rather than the positives. He's pretty freaked out by it all, which at least is a normal McKay reaction."

Elizabeth nodded.

"His natural pessimism's running high, then?"

"Oh, yeah, I'd say so. But he'll get over it, I'm sure. I left him in Beckett's capable hands," John smiled at that. "I think we should tell Teyla and Ronon about this, and Major Lorne as well. I was wondering if we could have a meeting here?"

"That sounds a good idea. Major Lorne has had experience with guiding a Sentinel before. He can help explain things to Teyla and Ronon."

"Yeah, and help McKay, which could be…interesting."

"John," Elizabeth admonished, "they have been getting on better these last few months."

"Mainly because I try to keep them apart as much as possible. But you're right, I think Lorne has found a greater tolerance, and respect even, for McKay. Of course, this is going to stretch that tolerance to its limits."

"I'm sure it will be alright," Elizabeth said, before asking the gate tech to call Teyla, Ronon and Major Lorne to her office.

They waited for the others to arrive, discussing further Rodney's reaction to the situation.

Once everyone was assembled, Elizabeth explained the basics about Sentinels and Guides, and what had happened to Rodney. Major Lorne was able to help out with some of the questions from Teyla and Ronon.

"Major, you have some experience as a temporary guide," Elizabeth prompted.

"Yeah, when O'Neill was promoted to General and took over the SGC, I stepped in whenever Jackson was off world with SG-1," he sighed. "I'm guessing, ma'am, that you'd like me to step in as a temporary guide for Dr McKay?"

"Yes."

Lorne didn't quite hide his wince at that.

"If I'm to guide him, then he's going to need to listen to me, otherwise this won't work. He's going to have to trust me to know what I'm doing, ma'am."

"I'll talk to McKay," Sheppard said, "and make sure that he listens. Just try to go easy on him, this whole thing's pretty scary for him."

"Yes, sir. I'll do my best."

"That's all we can ask," Elizabeth said with a smile.

"Dr Beckett believes that Rodney has a Guide here, on Atlantis?" Teyla asked.

"Yes," Sheppard replied. "One that isn't online yet."

"What happens when the Guide comes online?"

"A Guide is an empath, someone who can sense the emotions of others, but not read their thoughts," Elizabeth explained. "When bonded, the empathy strengthens, and a limited form of telepathy also occurs. Outside of a bond, a Guide has a low level empathy, and is able to block out the feelings of the people around him or her. Occasionally the Guide will experience a form of zone out, when the feelings of the people around him are particularly strong and he is tired or ill, but it is rare and usually only lasts for a few minutes at most. A bonded Guide doesn't suffer from zone outs, and the empathy is stronger, but more controlled.

"The telepathy, the ability to send thoughts to another person's mind is limited. The Guide can communicate with the Sentinel over large distances, somewhere in the region of two to three hundred miles, depending on circumstances. He or she can also communicate via telepathy with a set group of others, over a far shorter distance of around two to three miles. This set group of people, a tribe, or Clan as it is normally referred to, is usually between five and eight people. Once a person is part of the Clan, they remain so until either he or the Guide dies. If the Guide outlives a member of the Clan, then he can choose someone to take that place."

"A Guide that is bonded can communicate this way with others?" Ronon asked in clarification.

"Yes. So long as the Guide has chosen them."

"Could be useful. As well as knowing if someone is lying."

"This is common amongst your people?" Teyla asked Elizabeth.

"No, not common. I think it's about one Sentinel/Guide pair per nine hundred thousand people, or thereabouts. You haven't heard about this before?"

"No," Teyla said.

"I have," Ronon stated, "my grandfather was a watchman. He had a companion, a brother not of blood."

"Hey, maybe that explains your really good hearing," John wondered out loud.

"That's what I've always thought."

"How will we recognise a Guide who is coming online?" Teyla asked.

"I'm not sure that we would. The Guide would be aware of it, but I doubt we would be, at least not at first. If someone suddenly seems to know what everyone is feeling, that would be a dead giveaway, otherwise…" John trailed off, shrugging his shoulders.

"Then we should ask people to be inform us if this happens to them," she suggested.

"I don't think it would be a good idea to let too many people know about McKay just yet. He's going to be struggling to get a handle on this as it is, without everyone knowing. He doesn't need an audience, and he certainly doesn't need the curiosity either," Sheppard looked to Elizabeth. "Can we keep this to as few people as possible for now? Just until he's more comfortable with the whole thing himself?"

"Alright. We'll keep this to as few as possible, for the time being. Outside of us, only Radek, Carson and a few of Carson's staff are aware of what is happening with Rodney. If you feel you need to tell anyone else, check with me first. As for the Guide, there's no hurry with that. We'll keep an eye out for anyone who appears to be developing empathy, but otherwise, for now, we'll just hope that whoever it is will go to Carson for help."

That decision made, the meeting was finished after a few more minor queries were answered, and Sheppard and Lorne headed down to the infirmary. Teyla and Ronon would visit later, giving Lorne time to talk to Rodney and give him some basic tips first.

* * *

Rodney was in a foul mood. Carson had given him a small dosage of Tylenol, which hadn't made any real impact on his horrendous headache, and was refusing to give him anymore until he was sure he wouldn't react to it, the sadist. Added to that was the constant need to watch that he didn't concentrate on one sense too much, as he really didn't want another zone out. In fact, he was trying to ignore his senses, even though they kept 'spiking' on him, as Carson put it. It was beyond disconcerting to be looking at the ceiling one moment and then for it to come into focus so that he could see every tiny bump in the metal. Or for the antiseptic hospital smell to suddenly become overwhelming, leaving him gasping. Not to mention all the other little tricks his other senses were pulling on him. It was painful at times, and downright annoying at others.

So when Sheppard returned with Major Lorne in tow, he wasn't feeling very charitable towards them.

"McKay, how're you feeling?" Sheppard asked in an overly bright tone. Rodney scowled at him. "Oh, that good, then?"

"I feel like crap, and Carson refuses to give me anything but a measly bit of Tylenol, which is doing nothing for this headache. Oh, and my senses keep spiking, and when they're not doing that, they're threatening to zone out on me. So I'm feeling just… peachy."

"Well, maybe Lorne here can help with some of that, as our resident expert on Sentinels."

"Hardly an expert, sir."

"If O'Neill thought you were good enough to step in for Jackson on occasions, then you must be pretty good at this guiding thing."

"I guess so, sir."

"McKay, listen to the man. He's got the experience that will help you to gain control."

"Fine. Though I'd much rather this whole senses thing just went away," Rodney muttered.

"That's one thing it won't do," Lorne said.

"I know that," McKay snapped. "Doesn't stop me wishing though."

"Be nice to the kind man with the answers, Rodney," John said with a look that brooked no arguments. Not that the look worked on McKay very often.

"You try to be nice when your head feels like it's splitting open," Rodney snarled back, this being one of those many times that Sheppard's look didn't work.

"Rodney," John said warningly. "You are not going to step through the stargate until you have reasonable control over your enhanced senses. Even then, Major Lorne will be accompanying us on our missions," he turned to look at Lorne. "Sorry about that, Major, but I'll need to assign you to my team temporarily."

"Yes, sir," Lorne nodded his understanding.

"So, behave. Do what he says. And get control. The sooner you do that, the sooner you'll feel better, and the sooner we can go back on missions. Okay?"

"Not okay," Rodney muttered with a glare, "but I guess I don't have much choice, do I?"

"Nope. Not unless you want to stay in the infirmary indefinitely."

"Great," Rodney said sarcastically.

Lorne approached Rodney's bed, and sat in the chair next to it.

"So, your senses are spiking? Describe exactly what is happening, and I'll see how I can help."

"Fine," Rodney scowled at him.

"I'll leave you to it…" Sheppard started to say.

"With respect, sir, I think you need to be here as well. The more who know how to help McKay until he finds a Guide, the better it will be for him. If something was to happen…"

"Okay, I get the picture."

Sheppard grabbed another chair and brought it up to McKay's bed.

"So, what's happening with your senses?" Lorne prompted again.

With a deep sigh, Rodney organised his thoughts.

"Hmm, well, I'll be looking at something, like the curtain," he pointed to the curtain drawn part way around his bed, "and then I can see every fibre in it, in minute detail. Or the smells in here will suddenly become too strong, and I find it hard to breathe. My hearing will zero in on something, or someone, without warning. Touch will suddenly get bad as well," he gave a embarrassed laugh. "I just want to rip off my clothes, the bed sheets, everything…and then there's the times that everything tastes too strong and makes me want to throw up."

"But always one sense at a time, never two or more?"

"Oh crap, you mean they could act up more than one at a time?" Rodney exclaimed in genuine horror.

"It could happen, but it's rare. Usually, only one sense will spike at a time, occasionally two or three, but not often," Lorne reassured, seeing just how freaked out McKay was at the thought.

"Oh, good, good. Well, just one at a time, I guess that doesn't seem quite as bad, considering the alternative…"

"So, how does he stop it happening, Major?"

"Okay. Spikes are usually caused by either a negative reaction to something in the environment, something the Sentinel has eaten, or by an overloading of the area of the brain that controls the heightened senses. I suspect the latter, as a sudden onset of heightened senses usually cause problems. Basically, we have to wait for that area of the brain to…become used to the new levels of input. Though there is something the doc could give you to help settle things down until then. It'll take a day or two, from what I remember, for it to settle down on its own. I'll get the doc in a minute. The Colonel told me about the zone out you had. You need to learn to ground yourself to stop those happening."

"How?"

"If you start to concentrate on one sense, you need to add another one into the mix to avoid a zone out. For example, if you're concentrating on hearing, then try to ground yourself by seeing what you are hearing, or if that's not possible, try touching something rough, or cold. Something that will help you to split your concentration between two or more senses."

"Okay, I can do that."

"I'll get the doc, ask him to give you something to help with the spikes."

Lorne left to find Beckett.

"See? Not so bad," John said with a smile.

"Sure. But I have a feeling this is only the start, and it's going to get worse before it gets better."

"Now, don't be like that, McKay. Positive thinking…"

"…merely raises hopes to be dashed later."

"Ach, I see someone's in a cheery mood," Beckett said brightly, as he approached Rodney, with Lorne close behind.

"That was quick," Sheppard said.

"I was on my way to see Rodney anyway," he said, preparing an injection and turning his attention to McKay. "This will help stop the sensory spikes until your brain readjusts to things. Sorry it took so long, but the information I have is mainly about the genetics of Sentinels and Guides rather than the treatment of them. Had to wade through a whole heap of data before getting to anything that's useful right now."

"You sure it won't hurt me? I mean, you said something about drug sensitivity," Rodney watched Carson with worried eyes.

"This drug is perfectly safe for Sentinels and it'll probably help ease that headache as well. I'll have to be careful with a lot of drugs until I get a new baseline for you. In some cases you will need more than normal, in others far less. I'll also have to arrange some allergy tests."

Carson gave him the injection, ignoring Rodney's hiss when the needle went in.

"So, I get to play guinea pig for the mad Scottish doctor for a while? Wonderful, just… wonderful!"

"Aye, that you do, lad," Carson teased. Rodney frowned at him.

"So, this will stop the spikes?" John asked.

"Yes," Carson answered him.

"Good."

"I know some exercises that will help you with your senses," Lorne started, but was interrupted by Beckett.

"Aye, but that can wait. Let the man get some rest first."

"Okay," Sheppard said, looking to the Major. "We'll pick things up later."

"Yes, sir," Lorne said, and walked out, knowing a dismissal when he heard one.

"You too, Colonel," Carson ordered.

"Okay, I'll let you get some rest, McKay. Teyla and Ronon will probably be here when you wake up," John rose from his seat, and patted Rodney on the hand briefly. "Get some sleep."

Rodney just sighed heavily, and then nodded reluctantly, closing his eyes as Sheppard left the infirmary, and Carson went about his business. Amazingly, he fell asleep within minutes.


	2. Chapter Two: Adjusting

**Chapter Two – Adjusting **

The next few days were split between Carson and his tests, and Lorne and his exercises, with Teyla, Ronon or Sheppard learning about Rodney's senses as well. After three days, he no longer needed the drug to control the spikes, as they had stopped on their own, and he was released from the infirmary, with conditions. He wasn't to be alone for any length of time, in case of sensory spikes caused by unexpected ingested or environmental factors, and also in case of zone outs, which could last several hours if no one was around to pull him out.

His team took it in turns to camp out in his quarters at night, and to baby sit him during the day, though this task was also shared by Lorne and Radek.

After the sixth day, Rodney had agreed for the news of his Sentinel status to be shared with people on Atlantis. Fortunately, most people had had the sense to leave him pretty much alone, though there were the inevitable few who looked at him like he was some sort of freak. They soon changed their attitudes if one of his team or Carson, or even Major Lorne, saw the looks, or heard any comments.

The Daedalus wasn't due back for another two weeks, so telling Caldwell would have to wait, and Earth, of course, wouldn't know until the Daedalus returned again. Rodney was actually grateful for this delay, secretly worried that he would be recalled to Earth, for further 'training' if not to find a suitable Guide. He hoped to avoid that, and was grateful that Lorne knew as much as he did about Sentinels. Maybe the powers that be wouldn't recall him if they were convinced Lorne was capable of training him in the use of his senses.

He really didn't want to leave Atlantis for that long, especially as he was working on the intergalactic bridge and really didn't want to leave that in other people's hands. Sure, he could work on the macros on Earth just as easily as on Atlantis, but he wanted to be involved in finding more gates in the Pegasus Galaxy, wanted to meet his quota. Okay, so it wasn't a competition, but there was no way he was going to have Carter beat him by filling her quota before he filled his.

It was now the eighth day since his senses had enhanced themselves, and he was leaning on the rails of a balcony, looking out over the ocean. He had stormed out of a Sentinel lesson with Lorne, and stalked off on his own, finding a little used balcony to stew on.

He wasn't surprised when thirty minutes later, Sheppard walked onto the balcony, coming to stand beside him, and resting against the rail as well. Rodney sighed.

"So, Lorne says you had a hissy fit and stormed out."

"It wasn't a hissy fit," Rodney retorted.

"No? Oh. So, what was it?"

"I had a headache. I wanted to be alone. And Lorne wouldn't quit bugging me about these damn exercises and tests. So, I left."

"Uh, uh. You need to learn…"

"Yes, I know that! I just…I just needed some time to myself," Rodney looked at Sheppard. "I'm still reeling from this whole 'now I'm a Sentinel' thing. Still trying to come to terms with the fact I'm some sort of…freak. Abnormal, at the very least. And then there's everyone pushing me to learn quickly how to control it all, and I never have more than a few minutes to myself at any given time. So forgive me if I couldn't take it anymore and snapped, I think I'm entitled to!"

"You're not a freak, McKay," John said quietly, looking McKay in the eyes.

"Abnormal, then," Rodney couldn't keep eye contact and looked back out to sea.

"Huh, you've always been abnormal."

"Oh, thanks."

"No, McKay, it's true. A normal person wouldn't be able to do what you've done, wouldn't be able to understand half the things you understand," John nudged his arm. "You wouldn't really want to be of normal intelligence, would you?"

"Hardly," Rodney huffed.

"So, you see, you're already abnormal in one area, so what's the big deal if you are in another as well?"

"I suppose," though he didn't sound mollified.

"Besides, I think of it as being special, rather than abnormal."

"Special?" Rodney smiled, perking up a bit, "I think I can live with being special."

"Good. And I'll have a word with Major Lorne, ask him to back off a little bit, give you some room, but I'm not calling off your babysitters. Not just yet."

"And how long will I be watched in case of a zone out? I can't live my life like this! I need space, need to have time alone."

"I don't know how long, but we can't risk it, can't risk you. A Guide would improve things. They can tell if their Sentinel zones out, even when the Guide is miles away."

"But I don't have a Guide, and I'm still not sold on the whole bonding thing."

"I know," John sighed. "Time, Rodney. In time, it will all work out, I'm sure."

"Hmm, be patient, is that what you're saying? It's not one of my better virtues."

"Nor mine. You want to try and beat me at chess?"

"Chess?" Rodney asked, before smiling. "And what do you mean, try and beat you? I still have your IOU from the last game."

"Okay, double or nothing?"

They headed off the balcony, Sheppard leading the way to the rec room.

* * *

A game of chess later, and McKay had calmed down enough to reluctantly agree to a couple of sensory exercises with Major Lorne. Sheppard had stayed, acting as referee between the two, as Lorne's exasperation with McKay grew. After doing the two exercises, McKay had headed to his lab, and Sheppard had left him in the care of Zelenka.

He then went to find Beckett, who was in his own lab.

"Hey, doc, got a minute?"

"Um," Carson looked up from what he was doing to see who had interrupted him, and smiled. "Of course."

"I…" Sheppard fidgeted, wandering around the lab. "I think I might be… ah…" he sighed, "…developing empathy."

"Oh. You think you might be Rodney's Guide, then?"

"Ah…yeah…guess so," he turned to look at Carson. "Look, I've been getting this sense of what people are feeling, and it's getting more intense. At first I just put it down to reading body language, but it's gone beyond that now," John looked away. "You're excited, I know that, even though you're trying to seem calm and professional."

"Aye, lad, I have to admit to that," Carson said. "It's bloody exciting, this whole thing, though also quite a responsibility for me. I'd better take some blood, check your DNA for an activated gene."

"Exciting for you, maybe. Personally, this whole thing is…weird," John said, as Carson guided him into the infirmary, and gathered together the necessary equipment.

"Are you able to control it?"

"No, not yet. It's like I'll suddenly get a flash of emotion from someone, and then it's gone. But the flashes are getting more often and lasting longer."

"Ah, you're probably blocking out people's emotions most of the time, but unconsciously lowering the blocks occasionally. From what I've read about the onset of empathy, that's what happens at the start. After a few days, things will start to settle and you'll find lowering the blocks will become entirely a conscious decision, so you'll be able to control it," Carson took the blood sample whilst explaining things. "I can give you something to help minimise the effects until you gain control."

"That would be good. It's freaking me out a little bit. Just a little bit, mind you."

"Aye, of course it is. It'd be enough to freak out any sane person," Carson said, and then added with a grin. "But just a little bit. I'll check your DNA and let you know the results. Once it's confirmed, I'll get that injection for you, to help settle things down."

"Thanks, doc."

* * *

When Carson returned with the results, John wasn't surprised to find out he had an active Sentinel/Guide gene, or to receive an injection.

"Does anyone else know?" he asked.

"Just myself and you, I ran the tests personally. I'll need to inform Elizabeth…"

"Could it wait to a bit? I'd like to talk to Rodney first, before anyone else knows. We need to talk, make a decision, and I'd rather no one else interfered or put any pressure on us."

"Well, it's getting late now. I guess it can wait until tomorrow morning."

"Thanks, Carson."

"Aye, well, you know that you, and Rodney, don't _have_ to bond, don't you?"

"Yes, we know that. We also know that we'll function better if we do bond. I just… we just need to discuss things. He might not want this…"

"Do you?" Beckett asked.

"I…" John sighed. "If you'd have asked me a few days ago, I would have said 'no way'. The bond is…scary. I know you said it was platonic, that it was like being close family, brothers in this case, but it also involves both of us being aware of the feelings of the other a lot of the time. I'm not sure either of us could cope with that level of…friendship."

"I've seen the two of you together, and believe me, the two of you are already bonded as brothers," Carson shook his head slightly with a grin. "You certainly argue like brothers. I've seen you in action, not just Rodney and you, but the whole team, and I know family when I see it. I know the bond will mean admitting to that, at least to Rodney, but it's only admitting to what is already there, the way I see it."

"Maybe."

"There's no maybe about it, lad. But it's something Rodney and you will have to decide for yourselves. One thing, if you do decide to bond, you need to wait a few days, give your body time to adjust to the empathy. Bonding now is liable to cause a lot of problems that would be avoided if you wait."

"Okay, whatever we decide, we'll wait."

"Good."

"Thanks, doc."

Sheppard moved off to find Rodney whilst Carson returned to his research, hoping that his two stubborn friends could get past the macho 'men don't share feelings' crap and form the Sentinel/Guide bond a few days from now.

* * *

Sheppard found Rodney still in his lab, which didn't surprise him any. Ronon had taken over babysitting duties, and was currently leaning against a wall looking bored.

"Hey, Ronon, I hear they're serving your favourite down in the mess hall. You want to grab some before it all goes?"

"Sounds good," Ronon said, getting the hint. "See you later, McKay."

"Hmm, oh, yeah, later," Rodney looked up from his laptop, obviously not having heard the conversation.

"So, what you working on?" John asked him.

"Trying to increase power efficiency in some of the city's functions."

"Oh," Sheppard pushed himself up onto a nearby table. "Any problems with your senses?"

"Had a zone out a couple of hours ago, but Radek pulled me out of it within ten or so minutes. No doubt the tattle tale with tell you all about it later," McKay grumped.

"No doubt, and you know full well that we need to monitor how often they happen and what sets them off so we can help minimise their occurrence. It's for your own good."

"I know, I know, I just… I feel like I'm in a fishbowl, and I don't like it one bit."

"Yeah, well, you'll not be the only one soon."

"What?"

"Good news, Rodney," Sheppard announced with false cheer. "Your Guide has come online. Carson's just confirmed it; I'm an empath."

Rodney looked stunned, and, for once, was speechless.

"Okay, that wasn't quite the reaction I had expected," John said, smiling ruefully.

"I…you…" Rodney stuttered, before his brain finally caught up. "You're a Guide?"

"Yes, newly come online. Apparently it will take two or three days for my brain to adjust to the empathy, and I need to take some sort of drug until then, a bit like you did. Then, I'll gain control, and be able to bond…should we decide to do that."

"Oh."

"That's it? Just 'oh', nothing else?"

"I…wasn't expecting this. I mean, you. For it to be you," McKay shook his head in annoyance at his mixed up speech. "Okay, so…it's you. I suppose the question is, do you want to bond with me?"

"Do you want me to?"

"I…ah…I…" Rodney stopped, and then squared his shoulders, stood and looked John in the eyes. "Yes," he said, before looking away nervously. "But only if you want to, you don't have to, we'll cope okay without the bond, and it's okay if you don't want to bond, I'll understand; no problem, no big deal, you know," he paced agitatedly. "I mean, the whole sharing each other's feelings thing is kind of scary, but I think it'd be okay, but if you don't want that, I'd understand, really I would…"

"Rodney," John interrupted him, "breathe."

"Oh, right. Sorry, sorry," Rodney sat back down. "I just, I don't want you to feel like you have to, or anything."

"To be honest, I'm surprised you would want this."

"I know, so am I. I think, if it had been anyone else, it would be different. Well, maybe with a couple of exceptions. Like maybe Teyla, or Ronon perhaps."

"Family," Sheppard said quietly. "That's what Beckett said about us, the team."

"And what you said as well."

"I did? When?"

"Oh, ah, to Teyla, on the way to Sateda. She, er, she thought we should know what you had said. Oh, she's _so_ going to kick my ass when she finds out I've let that slip," Rodney shuddered.

"Who else has she told?"

"Just Ronon and me. I think she was trying to get me to shut up about you shooting me, but to her frustration, it didn't work. You do know I don't really hold that against you, I was just being…"

"A pain in the ass. Yeah, I know."

"You're not mad at Teyla, are you? She was just trying to help."

"No, no point in being mad at her. She'd just kick my ass as well," John grinned.

"She is _so_ going to hurt me…"

"Well, as your Guide, I'll just have to defend you, won't I?"

"As my Guide…you mean, you want to bond?" Rodney was surprised. Sheppard nodded with a sigh, looking away from McKay and finding the wall very interesting.

"Yeah. Weird, huh? But it seems…okay. The right thing to do. Crap, I'm no good at this. It just…feels right."

"It does, doesn't it?" McKay smiled, and the snorted. "Oh crap, we sound like…"

"Brothers."

"Yeah, brothers," Rodney smiled.

"Okay, so enough of this sensitive stuff, what say we join Ronon?"

"Best idea you've had all…year," Rodney smirked. John rolled his eyes, resisting the urge to whack him upside the head…just.

* * *

Three days had passed since John's empathy had developed, and he no longer required the drug to keep control. He had a better understanding of how McKay had felt after his Sentinel senses came online, the feeling of being 'in a fishbowl' was there. Still, he knew people's curiosity would settle after a while, and those who thought he or McKay were freaks were learning to keep their opinions to themselves at least. He smiled to himself when he thought of his team's protectiveness towards each other.

Major Lorne was clearly relieved to find out that not only was Sheppard a Guide, but that Rodney and he were going to form a bond. It meant that, after some more sessions teaching John how to teach Rodney, he could pull back and leave them to it, only stepping in when called on. John couldn't fault him for that, McKay was not the easiest of people to handle at the best of times, and when he was feeling unsettled, then he could be much worse.

Now, it was time to form the bond, and he had to admit to himself that he was both terrified and excited at the thought. It went against everything he thought about himself, to actually want to let someone into his life like this. Sure, he might feel about his friends here as if they were family, but to admit it…well, Teyla knew how hard that was for him. This was more than admitting to it, this was opening himself up to someone else, sharing feelings, and being responsible on a whole other level for said person than before. He should be running from this, and a part of him still wanted to, but he wasn't. Another part of him wanted this; the friendship, the brotherhood, the…caring. It had to have something to do with being a Guide, he could only assume. And it was probably the same for McKay, another one who had difficulty with sharing the more 'sensitive, caring' emotions with people, and yet he also wanted this bond. It must be the Sentinel/Guide thing, there was no other explanation.

He just hoped they could both handle this change, without becoming too… emotional… too touchy-feely, even in a purely friendship way.

Of course, initiating the bond required some touchy-feely-ness to start with, but once the bond was formed, there would be no more need to it. Well, he might need to touch McKay's arm from time to time to ground his senses, or to pull him out of a zone out, but it wasn't like they were going to start hugging each other or anything like that. He wasn't really that kind of guy. Okay, it didn't mean a person wasn't manly; crap, try telling Ronon that hugging Beckett on Sateda wasn't manly! No, in certain circumstances it was perfectly fine; he just wasn't that sort of person.

He arrived at the balcony, the one Rodney had gone to three days ago. Nice and secluded, only McKay and himself would be there. Beckett had wanted to be with them, worried about possible problems, but they had insisted that they do this alone. He knew Beckett was close by, though, just not close enough to watch or listen. But ready to come should one of them call him via the headsets.

Rodney wasn't here yet, but that was okay. He leaned on the railing, looking seawards, and tried to calm himself.

A couple of minutes later, Rodney came and stood beside him, leaning on the railing as well.

"So, you still want to go ahead with this?" he asked nervously.

"Sure. Do you?" John responded.

"Yes."

"Okay, then. I guess we should, you know, just get it done with."

"Okay," Rodney said, standing up straight and turning to face John, who also had stood and turned to face him. "I have to admit to being somewhat…ah…nervous."

"Same here," Sheppard said. "In fact, terrified might be better."

"Oh good, glad I'm not the only one then," Rodney said in obvious relief.

"It will be okay," John wasn't sure who he was reassuring, but suspected it was both of them.

"Okay, then."

Rodney placed his right hand over John's heart and his left hand on the side of John's face, his hands shaking with nerves. John mirrored him, placing his right hand over Rodney's heart and left hand on Rodney's face. They both closed their eyes and concentrated on the heartbeat under their hands.

John could feel the fingertips on both his hands getting warm, whether it was from McKay's body heat or the link starting to grow he wasn't entirely sure. As he stood there, a tingly feeling started moving slowly down both his arms. Once it had travelled all the way down it felt like a rope, okay, an invisible rope, make that two ropes in fact, but ropes that were strong and would always link them. One rope was the telepathic link and the other was linking him to the person that was McKay (so he would always know where McKay was and what he was feeling). Instinctively they both knew when the bond felt right and was secure, and it was done.

They were bonded.

They opened their eyes, and stared in wonder for a moment, before embarrassment took over, and they quickly removed their hands.

"Wow," McKay said, leaning with his back against the railing.

"Yeah, wow," Sheppard agreed. "That was…weird, but kinda cool. I can feel you, in here," he pointed to his head.

"Same here. Totally weird…but, yes, cool too. It's not like I thought it would be. It's not like I can feel everything you are feeling, but I am more aware of you…"

"Yeah. I think I could, if I wanted to. I could read your emotions more, but I don't need to. I just have this sense of you."

"Hey, try out the telepathy," Rodney turned to him in excitement.

John concentrated on sending thoughts to Rodney.

'_Can you hear this?'_

"Oh boy. Oh wow. That is…so cool," McKay said excitedly. "I could hear you, in my mind. You'd think I'd be freaked out, but it was so…so…"

"…cool."

"And you can do that for a chosen few, a Clan," McKay snorted. "Sounds a bit Scottish, that."

"It's the accepted term. I've been thinking about that, about who I should make part of our Clan. I was thinking Teyla and Ronon for sure."

"Of course. Maybe Carson and Elizabeth? It could be useful if you could contact them telepathically too."

"Yeah, I thought so. We don't know how many I can handle, but four should be okay. I might be able to handle up to another four, though I'd rather not."

"There's time to think about that."

"Yeah, there is. Better go find Beckett, tell him to stop worrying. Ask him if he'd like to be part of our Clan."

"Good idea. Then, can we eat? Because for some reason I'm suddenly starving…"

"Not just me, then? Must be a side effect of the bonding. We'll see Beckett, then hit the mess hall."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Rodney said, his eyes lighting up at the thought of food.

* * *

Teyla and Ronon were both quite happy to be part of the Clan, as was Elizabeth when asked. Carson, though feeling somewhat honoured to be asked, was less sure about it. However, with some gentle encouragement from Elizabeth, and not so gentle goading from Rodney, he agreed.

The actual forming of the telepathic bond was much less embarrassing for John than the forming the Sentinel/Guide bond had been, entailing him to place one hand on the side of the face of each person in turn, but no more touchy-feely stuff than that, to his immense relief.

Now that Rodney had a Guide, it was felt that Major Lorne was not needed to go on missions with them, and that he could return to his former duties and team, for which he was extremely thankful.

After testing the telepathy out, and several days of adjusting to the Sentinel/Guide bond, the team were ready to head through the stargate again.

The End (for now)


End file.
